Are you stunned by Georgia Tech’s loss at Siena? Me, neither
This marks the third time in 11 seasons Georgia Tech has lost five non-conference games before Christmas under Paul Hewitt. This is significant because Tech under Hewitt has only once done better than 8-8 in ACC play.
Simple math: Five non-league losses plus eight conference losses plus another in the ACC tournament — the Jackets have never won that event under Hewitt — and you’ve got 14. Fourteen is too many to get a team into the NCAA field. (Yeah, I know the field has expanded this season — by three. Same difference.) And Hewitt has said he believes this team is good enough to be an NCAA team.
More history: The two other times Tech under Hewitt has lost five non-league games before Christmas, it hasn’t just missed the NCAA — it has finished with a losing record. (The Jackets were 15-16 in 2000-2001, 15-17 in 2007-2008.) Should Tech have a losing season in 2010-2011, that would make three in the past four tries. That would be enough under ordinary circumstances to find a new coach, but the circumstances at the Flats aren’t ordinary. Hewitt has that perpetual rollover and his $7 million buyout.
On Wednesday the Jackets lost at Siena, where Hewitt used to coach. The Associated Press used the word “stun” to describe what the Saints had done to Tech, but why should anybody be stunned? Tech’s first loss of the season was by 17 points at Kennesaw State, which has gone 0-9 since. Its third loss came by 21 points at Northwestern, which just lost to St. John’s, which was so desperate for a new coach it spoke with Hewitt in March. (Against Tech, Northwestern scored 55 points in the first 20 minutes.)
Now Siena. The Saints played a zone and dared Tech to shoot from the perimeter, something the Jackets had done well in a loss against Syracuse, which plays the nation’s best zone. Tech made eight second-half baskets against Siena, only three of them on jump shots. When you have a team laden with guards, you should be able to make jump shots. Not this night, alas.
Oh, and here’s the really depressing part: Siena’s second-leading scorer on the season didn’t play (bad ankle), and its leading scorer played sick. (Also hurt. Ryan Rossiter caught an elbow in the first half. Still scored 19 points.) And while there have been good Siena teams in years past — the Saints have reached the past three NCAA tournaments — this wouldn’t appear to be one. The victory improved the Saints’ record to 4-6.
As for Tech, it was Loss No. 5 against a schedule that hasn’t been terribly imposing. The Jackets have faced one ranked opponent. The aggregate record of the six teams they’ve beaten is 35-39. Only one ACC team has lost as many as five games already, and at least Wake Forest has the excuse of playing under a new coach. Tech, as we know, is working under the same coach.
By Mark Bradley
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253 comments Add your comment
wow weeza
December 23rd, 2010
1:48 pm
I’d rather watch my cat poop in her litter box than watch GT basketball and this is coming from a long time season ticket holder.
GTBob
December 23rd, 2010
1:48 pm
B, it comes down to where the funding comes from. A lot of the money for the new coliseum was donated, and earmarked for that particular project. Paul Hewitt’s salary comes straight from the budget of the Athletic Department.
Ted M
December 23rd, 2010
1:49 pm
Thx acowa – that should make it a lot easier to fire him.
DRad just do it and get it over with!
realist
December 23rd, 2010
1:50 pm
As I understand it, the 7mm is spread out as if we continued paying his salary each year.
I’ve also heard rumors that the money *is* there, but a couple of things change the timing. First, I believe the CG buyout ends after next year so that money is freed up. Second, we may want to bring a new guy in with the new building changes so that would be after next year as well.
However, if the dome end up empty most of the year (which is almost guaranteed) something might have to be done sooner rather than later.
T3
December 23rd, 2010
1:50 pm
BRadley:
few things:
First:
Next time you talk with Hewitt, you should ask him more bluntly:
“Coach, are DELIBERATELY trying to get yourslef fired?”
Second:
Bradley, try putting your imagination to work on figuring out how GT can either:
A) Make Hewitt WANT to leave; or
B) Develop a way to generate the needed $7 Million to buy Hewitt out.
IMHO, the longer Hewitt stays under the current “dubious” circumstancs,
the WORSE his professional reputation in collegiate sports will get.
All I'm Saying Is...
December 23rd, 2010
1:51 pm
“Were you stunned by Georgia Tech’s loss at Siena? Me, either” should be “…Me, neither.” If you are going to make a big show of Hewitt’s latest underachieving team’s latest underwhelming performance (last one I recall was loss to Kennesaw State), at least get your grammar right.
acowa
December 23rd, 2010
1:51 pm
Mark,
Do you guys proof this stuff before you post? “Me, either?” It’s sad when engineers have better grammar than sportswriters.
Harry from da Burn
December 23rd, 2010
1:52 pm
The only good thing coming from this loss is….Paul Hewitt is DEFINITELY gone. I have supported him strong, but after this dissapointing season, he must go. HIRE LARRY BROWN
bjohndawg
December 23rd, 2010
1:55 pm
Maybe Tech’s AD needs to be replaced if he can move to get Hewitt out of there.
Maybe he is sitting around watching “Cinema Paradiso”
NOW THERE IS A MOVIE!
O'Brien
December 23rd, 2010
1:56 pm
Mark,
I am shocked a GT AD Would give anyone not named coach K a buyout/rollover contract worth $7 mil knowing full well Tech does not have that kind of money if things go wrong.
I wonder how Taz feels about basketball. The football program had lost its fans under Chan Bailey, and he wasn’t producing on the field. Same thing with Hewitt and the basketball program.
He needs to go.
James
December 23rd, 2010
1:57 pm
Drug test him and be done with him.
Big Al
December 23rd, 2010
2:03 pm
The comment “It’s just one of those things” says a lot. Its time for a new coach. Nothing personal “It’s just one of those things.”
Oh well, at least we should play Wake close.
BTW, I continue to support our current team.
dap01
December 23rd, 2010
2:05 pm
Who gave Hewitt that contract? Either that was plain stupid or there is corruption in the athletics department.
What a nightmare! Tech’s basketball program is dropping like a rock and very soon there will be no big time recruits going here at all. Hewitt has had talent. He has simply not utilized it.
He is a horrible coash. Please make a change so that we can atleast hope that we can get another player or two.
UGA 89
December 23rd, 2010
2:06 pm
I think the basketball and football programs are just fine at Tech. I wouldn’t change a thing if I was a Tech man.
IndyGT
December 23rd, 2010
2:09 pm
so, who could we bring in to replace Hewitt? Brad Stevens (Butler HC), Cliff Warren (Final4 asst, just beat UF in Gainsville), anyone else?
aubrey
December 23rd, 2010
2:10 pm
Hewitt is quoted as saying, “I thought we had looks and couldn’t make them. It’s just one of those things.” This sounds like he has given up and doesn’t really expect to win. His current approach to Tech basketball is to recruit a badly imbalanced team, to fail to “coach it up”, and then say that a loss to what should be a clearly inferior program is “Just one of those things.” This situation has gone from aggrevain, to embarassing, to just plain sad. I is bad enough that the man cannot coach, it is worse that he continues to take money he doesn’ earn on he merits of his coaching, and it is inexcusable that he holds the program as a hostage for the totally unrealistic buy out included in his contract by the misguided David Braine. Mr. Hewitt, do the honorable thing and take a reasonable payoff and get out of town.
Harry from da Burn
December 23rd, 2010
2:12 pm
I do find it funny how UGA fans and rednecks are talking about how stupid our AD is.
FullMetalJacket
December 23rd, 2010
2:13 pm
Yet another sad characteristic of Paul Hewitt’s tenure at Georgia Tech is that we’re never surprised when we lose to anybody. When your teams are fundamentally unsound and undisciplined you can lose to anybody at anytime. So, we’re not only not surprised, we’re actually used to it, and that is very sad indeed for a once-proud program. Are you listening, DRad? I didn’t think so….
GT Alum
December 23rd, 2010
2:13 pm
realist,
I thought about the new coach coming with the new building, but there’s a good chance changing coaches will mess with recruiting, and it will likely take a little bit of time for the new guy to get the program in a new direction. Why open the new stadium at the beginning of that transition? Why not start that transition at least at the end of the season and give the new guy a year to build his team so the first year in the new arena has a better chance of being a successful one?
Big Al
December 23rd, 2010
2:20 pm
All I’m Saying Is … wrote–Me, either” should be “…Me, neither.” If you are going to make a big show of Hewitt’s latest underachieving team’s latest underwhelming performance (last one I recall was loss to Kennesaw State), at least get your grammar right.
Shouldn’t it be “Neither was I”?
LAST
December 23rd, 2010
2:21 pm
Tech basketball just plain sucks!!!! GA rules you GEEKS in the major sports!!!
Harry from da Burn
December 23rd, 2010
2:25 pm
UGA fans acting like they’ve always been good in basketball. It wasn’t too long ago where y’all would finish last in the SEC (like last season). You guys haven’t even made it past the second round in over a decade.
FullMetalJacket
December 23rd, 2010
2:26 pm
Mark, Wonder what the official attendance and season ticket sales for basketball look like this year? I did not renew my season tickets for the second year in a row (and will not until Hewitt is gone) and from the brief highlights I’ve seen on t.v. the stands look pretty empty. My nephew in the student section says the students have been chanting anti-Hewitt cheers, which begs the question: Is there any faction at Tech now that Hewitt has NOT alienated? Time to bite the bullet, fire the man, pay him off, and start over.
Jacket Backer
December 23rd, 2010
2:31 pm
Uh , suprised???…..no
Hal
December 23rd, 2010
2:31 pm
CPH will be here till he croaks. Dave Braine isn’t in an insane asylum somewhere,….maybe we can have the contract nullified. Thank you Dave Braine and a Merry Christmas to you! CPH is fat dumb and happy and life is good. He ain’t hungry anymore
acowa
December 23rd, 2010
2:32 pm
I have season tickets and sit next to the students…and I have not heard any anti CPH chants
Paul Hewitt
December 23rd, 2010
2:32 pm
I’m a baskbetball coach!
JoeFan
December 23rd, 2010
2:33 pm
CPH want be fired in mid-season but without considerable improvement DRad has no choice but to cut ties at the end of this season. There should be money available with Gailey’s buyout over and it would be appropriate to get the new coach in place a year before the new arena opens its doors. This charade should have ended 2 years ago but everyone take a deep breath and realize that GT should be looking for a new coach by mid March.
Dawg Tired
December 23rd, 2010
2:38 pm
I live in Raleigh, NC area. Folks up here would probably trade even up: Hewitt for Sidney Lowe.
Cpup
December 23rd, 2010
2:43 pm
Worse than shocked- I don’t care. When total apathy sets in with once rabid fan (and alum) your program is in trouble.
Rich T
December 23rd, 2010
2:44 pm
Aubrey said: “Hewitt is quoted as saying, “I thought we had looks and couldn’t make them. It’s just one of those things.” This sounds like he has given up and doesn’t really expect to win.”
I think he’s basically run out of things to say.
Joshua Barlowe
December 23rd, 2010
2:55 pm
OK, here’s my plan. We pay Damon Evans $1 million to become friends with Hewitt, and then get Damon to take him out on the town, get him nice and drunk, get a lady friend in the car with him and then get him a DUI, and maybe even plant some meth or crack on him to up it to a felony.
Evans is the expert at this, and then we can fire him for free for being arrested.
MAKE IT HAPPEN!!
GT FAN
December 23rd, 2010
2:58 pm
FIRE HIM!!!
GT Alum
December 23rd, 2010
3:02 pm
It’s 2 days before Christmas, and Tech fans are gathering to roast Hewitt’s chestnuts over an open fire.
Ben
December 23rd, 2010
3:04 pm
I would have been stunned if somehow Tech had played well and won. Tech playing badly and losing isn’t stunning at all, it’s typical.
Mark Bradley had the best quote, something like: “If Hewitt isn’t the worst coach in America, it’s only because it’s a really big country.”
If he had any integrity, Hewitt would quit and refuse the buyout. He’s certainly not doing the job he was hired to do, which was to groom these young men into good basketball players. They all seem to get worse while at Tech.
Vick=Dog killing Thug
December 23rd, 2010
3:06 pm
Merry Christmas everyone ! Go Dawgs
juice sourcer
December 23rd, 2010
3:10 pm
Tech is an embarassment to the reputation of ACC basketball. Please drop out and join the Big South conference..please.
GT man
December 23rd, 2010
3:13 pm
Should be last season to suffer under Blewitt. Doubt after all the ragging and complaining that Rad will bring him back. Whatever buyout is possible will still be a plus for GT, now PJ better start sweating. Dont look to see GT stop Air Force.
SUCKER
December 23rd, 2010
3:13 pm
Damn those UGA lawyers.
Thishurtsbad
December 23rd, 2010
3:15 pm
This hurts bad. I remember when a Tech basketball ticket was like gold, but come on guys, do you really expect Hewitt just to walk away. The contract has been signed. My biggest concern, and a legitimate question is, before a contract is delivered, isn’t three some sort of a committee that approves the deal. If not there should be.
Mark Bradley`s Booster
December 23rd, 2010
3:16 pm
Maybe the bad will bottom out soon. Cannot get too much worse. I think about the best we can expect is 12 wins and 18 losses at the rate we are going now. Any other predictions? Maybe I am being too optimistic.
Ted M
December 23rd, 2010
3:21 pm
Mark,
Would Hewitt grant you an interview if you asked?
Old Gold
December 23rd, 2010
3:21 pm
Paul Hewitt forever!!
GT Alum
December 23rd, 2010
3:21 pm
Thishurtsbad -
While in the sober light of day this contract looks terrible, we were still in the giddy atmosphere of the time after our run to the championship game when this contract was signed. Hewitt looked like a golden boy, and we were afraid we might lose him. Unfortunately, he looks like the proverbial blind squirrel now, and we’re just seeing the negative side of the contract.
Chuck Sheen
December 23rd, 2010
3:22 pm
Patience everyone. This is only year 1 of the 3rd 5 year plan!
RAMBLINWRECK
December 23rd, 2010
3:22 pm
.Paul hewitt is the new BILL LEWIS! Please don’t forget that the GT AD claims that GT is “HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION” which ever direction that is to him? Stunning statement and the rumor is that GT has the buyout money for hewitt now! Why is this guy still on the payroll as we speak if GT has the buyout money that it is rumored to have??? I’m still waiting for a logical explanation from DRAD!?
Hewitt said after the loss last night…” We just couldn’t get the shots to fall”… Gee paul, your brilliant and we pay you how much for your pathetic coaching and genius wisdom following every embarrassing loss? RESIGN, YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO GT BASKETBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DRAD, FIRE THIS CLOWN OR YOU NEED TO BE FIRED! ENOUGH OF THIS WASTE OF SPERM KNOWN AS COACH BLEWITT!!!!! HEWITT, YOU SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://WWW.FIREHEWITT.COM
Jackets for Hewitt!!!!
December 23rd, 2010
3:24 pm
Paul Hewitt is the man!!!! Hewitt forever baby! Go Hewitt’s Jackets!
juvenal
December 23rd, 2010
3:24 pm
Mark, at least learned from fargo folks speak canadian there…where is RDU?…Mark, any chance we’re just waiting to finish paying chan?…could be worse, we could have the #3$ college program & go 6-6 in football…hope sanford (over)drive made it home safe…Merry Christmas to all!
Billyboy
December 23rd, 2010
3:25 pm
Hewitt is here for a few more years, and, so are the losses.
Remarkable
December 23rd, 2010
3:26 pm
Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark,
Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, are you still there? ????????????????
There are some good questions in here that I think lots of people would like to hear your answers on.